ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is suing the St. Louis Housing Authority and a private company -- trying to force better living conditions at the Clinton Peabody public housing complex just south of downtown St. Louis.

“These residents are being forced to live in intolerable conditions: rodent and pest infestations, black mold accumulation, water damage, and numerous and other issues as well, and despite much public outcry, despite residents complaining, going through all the proper channels, these residents have been ignored,” he says.

Hawley says his office is seeking monetary and punitive damages along with demanding the living conditions in the complex be improved.

“We will ask the court to calculate that and to asses it, but I would just point out that McCormack Baron did $3 million in revenue last year, they have plenty of funds available to fix these conditions and pay back these residents, and the Public Housing Authority also, they should have to pay back these residents,” he says.

Hawley says the two entities, property management company McCormack Baron and the Public Housing Authority, are violating Missouri law - which says residents have the right to live in a safe and properly maintained home.